The Eagles Kick Off ‘History’ Tour

Could the Eagles‘ current tour be the last sprint in their “long run?” Possibly: their tour has an air of finality to it. Like the Rolling Stones bringing ex-guitarist Mick Taylor out on their recently-wrapped tour (speculated to be their last run), the Eagles have founding guitarist Bernie Leadon in tow. Drummer/singer Don Henley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinelthat founding bassist Randy Meisner wasn’t excluded from the tour either: “If he were healthy and willing, [he] might have been included, too, but his current health will not permit. We are all wishing him well.”

(Meisner, who sang “Take It To The Limit,” suffered a health setback a few months ago: “Randy was at home when something he was eating obstructed his breathing and he lost consciousness,” Poco’s Rusty Young wrote in an online note to fans in April. “[His wife] Lana rushed him to the emergency room where he got immediate care. Things are going to be a little rough for Randy for a while, but his doctors are optimistic he’ll recover from this incident.”)

The trek is dubbed the “History Of The Eagles” tour (promoting their recent career-spanning documentary), and they are taking the title seriously. The show started out with the band’s founders/leaders/perennial members Don Henley and Glenn Frey taking the stage with acoustic guitars and singing the album cut “Saturday Night.” After that, Leadon joined them for “Train Leaves Here This Morning,” a song he sang lead on. Leadon stuck with the band for most of the first set, according to a review in the Courier-Journal.

The second set was more Joe Walsh-centric, featuring not just music from his time with the Eagles, but also some of his solo songs (“In The City,” “Life’s Been Good,” “Rocky Mountain Way”) and one from his era in the James Gang (“Funk #49”).

In the above mentioned Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interview, Henley said that the current tour might be the band’s last trek: “This could very well be our last, major tour. Covering the entire globe will take us about two years… So, by the time we get through this tour, it’ll be 2015 and we’ll all be in our late 60s. It’s been an incredible experience for all of us, but it may be time to say adios and bow out gracefully.” If the tour actually does go on for that long, it seems that Meisner would be able to join his former bandmates as well.

One thing that probably won’t happen on the tour is a reunion with former guitarist Don Felder. When asked about the moment in the film where Felder cries when discussing his split with the Eagles, Henley said, “That was a poignant moment, for sure – if it was real. But since Mr. Felder continues to engage in legal action, of one kind or another, against us, I can’t really say anything further about it.”

Felder, who has been touring on his own and playing a number of Eagles songs, told Radio.com that “I’ve actually reached out numerous times to shake hands and be friends and go on with those guys, but the only response I usually get back is from their attorneys, which is not encouraging.”

The Eagles — Frey, Henley, Walsh and bassist Timothy B. Schmit, along with Leadon — are touring through July, with August off, and the tour begins again in September. Go to their official website for dates.